10 Reasons to Outsource HR Services

If you’ve just started a new business, then you probably have a lot going on, such as marketing, meetings, finances, and especially your employees. As a business owner, it’s normal to wear many different hats when you’re first starting out, but as your business starts to grow, you’re going to be faced with many internal management-related challenges and decisions that smaller businesses may not fully grasp. One critical decision is whether you’re going to handle every human resource function internally or consider outsourcing your HR services.

A multifaceted practice, driven by the government to protect workers’ rights, the employer’s productivity and profits, as well as referee the relationship between employees, employers, and trade unions, human resources is a vital part of running any business, which is why it makes good business sense to outsource HR services.

Here are 10 reasons to outsource HR services.

Adherence to

Selective recruiting with the best candidates.

Conflict resolution.

Disciplinary hearings.

Freeing up internal resources.

HR queries and answers.

Performance improvement.

Risk management.

Training and development.

You save money and time.

Your business is one of the greatest investments you have, and in today’s cut-throat world of commerce, you need to protect your investment if you want to succeed. When you outsource HR services, you get to invest more time in the expertise and products you provide, and less time on compliance and the management of employees.

Whether your organisation is small, large or in-between, the many benefits of outsourcing HR services are many, which is why you need an HR consulting company with years of experience in labour law, industrial relations, and human resources.

With more than 50 years’ experience at CHA Consulting, we understand what it takes to keep your human resources processes running efficiently. When you work with us, you gain a reliable and efficient expert in the field of recruitment, law, compliance and skills development, minimising risks, and keeping your investment protected.

If you think it’s time to elevate your HR performance, then we are the HR consultants to talk to. When you partner with us, you get fast and efficient solutions and answers to your pressing HR questions. To learn more about us or to find out how we can help your business achieve success through our HR services, chat to one of our HR consultants.

How Labour Broking Benefits Your Company

Ensuring compliance with labour law requirements is of the utmost importance for the employer to minimise the risk of penalties, as well as financial and time losses related to dealing with complicated legal matters. As such, it is essential to use labour broking firms, such as Entirweni Management Services (EMS), when your firm is in need of casual labour.

What is the Difference Between a Labour Broking Service and a Recruitment Agency?

A recruitment agency acts as an intermediate in finding suitable candidates to fill a particular position. The labour broker handles everything from recruitment to HR, transport, payroll, and admin tasks according to the requirements of the law on behalf of the client company.

Why Use a Labour Broking Service?

Compliance with labour law goes hand-in-hand with expenses, such as direct administration of the employee contracts. By using a broking service, your firm is able to save on payroll management, contract setup, compliance, and other costs, since the broking firm handles and takes responsibility for the functions and costs associated with such.

You also save on HR personnel costs. In order to manage the payroll of the employees, you need a payroll clerk or HR member to dedicate time to the task. The broking firm has the infrastructure to handle the processes effectively, and in compliance with labour law requirements, which means you do not need a full-time person to oversee the function.

With the broking firm, such as EMS, already having a database of specialist employees available on short notice, you do not have to go through the expensive and often lengthy process of recruitment. Candidates have been screened, and as such, the process of hiring new employees is shortened. If you need employees to fill a particular contract for an important project that is due soon, you do not have the luxury of time to search for appropriate specialist employees. Fortunately, the broking firm already has a pool of employees to help you fill the positions immediately.

You are able to hire temporary or permanent employees, and know that their skills match the job requirements. Indeed, placements are guaranteed for three months when you use EMS.

Your firm also benefits from outsourcing your payroll function. This means compliance with labour and tax law requirements. The broking firm stays up-to-date with the latest changes in the law, and makes it easier for you to focus on business at hand rather than administration tasks associated with employing specialists in a particular field.

Experience the above, and many other benefits associated with using a labour broking firm in South Africa. Give us a call to discuss your particular employee requirements.

Why Outsource Your Labour Disciplinary Action?

As an employer, you are also a business owner and thus focused on growing the firm. Profit generation is critical in a successful business. However, regardless of how big or small your company is, if an employee causes trouble, fails to perform according to their employment contract, or causes harm to your property or other employees, it is essential to address the issue immediately.

You may delay disciplinary action because you want to give the employee another chance, but if you fail to take the necessary disciplinary action within a reasonable timeframe, you may find that once you decide to do so, it is already too late. Outsourcing the disciplinary action to a labour-consulting firm helps you to focus on business growth and core business activities. With the issue in the hands of experienced labour-consulting experts, you do not have to delay the disciplinary action.

The labour-consulting experts follow the correct notification, investigation, and hearing procedures. As such, the risk of your firm having to defend the dismissal of an employee at the CCMA or the Labour Court is significantly reduced or eliminated. The labour-consulting experts stay abreast of the latest labour laws and regulatory changes, so they ensure that everything is done by the book.

As an employer, and especially if you have a smaller company, you may find it difficult to take the necessary disciplinary action because you fear that it may affect employee morale and general employee relations. It is not the case when using labour-consulting experts. They are objective and do not side with either party. As such, they ensure a fair procedure is followed and the appropriate disciplinary action for the offense is recommended. It is thus never too harsh or too lenient for the particular type of misconduct.

They ensure that you have a disciplinary-action policy in place that meets labour-law requirements and they follow company policy to the letter. You may be tempted to bend the rules because you do not want to have to take the disciplinary action against an employee, but the problem is that by so doing, you are setting a precedent. If the next employee also commits the same offense and you failed to take the appropriate level of disciplinary action against the first employee, you cannot take disciplinary action against the second one for the same type of misconduct.

By outsourcing the labour disciplinary action to a consulting team, you thus avoid the above situation altogether. Make sure your disciplinary action is appropriate, applied when necessary, and according to correct labour law procedure. Make use of our labour consulting services.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Call us for advice rather than relying on the information herein to make any decisions. The information is relevant to the date of publishing – October 2018.

How to Ensure Procedurally Fair Disciplinary Action by Making Use of Labour Consultants

The CCMA deals with well over 100 000 cases annually, most having to do with unfair dismissal claims by employees against employers. Ensuring procedurally and substantively fair disciplinary action is taken when dealing with disciplinary matters is essential if you, as an employer, want to avoid costly CCMA Awards. One way to ensure such is to make use of HR outsourcing to make sure that you have experienced consultants to deal with disciplinary proceedings and actions.

HR outsourcing regarding such helps your firm to avoid non-compliance with South African labour laws. Our consultants will ensure that your firm’s disciplinary procedures are aligned with procedures stipulated in the Labour Relations Act. Our consultants will help you to determine whether or not the employee is guilty of poor performance or misconduct as it is essential to take the right disciplinary action related to the offence. This also applies to the eventual termination of employment.

The correct procedures must be followed, and, in this regard, you will definitely benefit from HR outsourcing. Our consultants will provide you with the necessary guidance and advice to ensure you can take relevant and appropriate action. Such action should be in accordance with the requirements of the Labour Relations Act and must be fair.

You can focus on core business activities to ensure the growth and success of the business as opposed to trying to keep up with all the regulations regarding disciplinary action and fair dismissals. We will advise you about every action to take and how to conduct disciplinary hearings. In addition, we will help your firm to deal with HR and industrial issues.

If you have yet to understand how HR outsourcing can benefit your firm, consider how easy it is to make one procedural mistake in dealing with misconduct or poor performance. The mistake can lead to the issue being referred to the CCMA. Indeed, in 40% of the cases referred to the CCMA for arbitration, employers have lost their cases. Also consider that a whopping 80% of cases heard by the CCMA are specifically for unfair dismissal issues.

HR outsourcing of the labour relations management function to our consultants will help to ensure that policies are in place to deal with disciplinary matters and keeping it in line with the legislative requirements. We will help to ensure correct procedures are followed to minimise the risk of having to appear before the CCMA in a dispute or losing your case because of a mistake made in taking disciplinary action against an employee.

With HR outsourcing, you benefit from our expertise in setting up employment contracts, handling appeal hearings, addressing shop steward and grievance meetings, handling of union intervention, and disciplining staff by means of warnings, counselling and more. We also help you to prepare for CCMA or Bargaining Council hearings and to present your firm at such hearings.

Get expert guidance and presentation through HR outsourcing of the labour relations management function to our team of consultants.

When to Make Use of Our Employment Equity Plan Services

You might not have realised it until now that your firm will benefit greatly from our range of employment equity services. We have consulting experts in the design and implementation of EE Plans, and the submission of the reports according to the requirements of the Employment Equity Act.

When to Use Our Services

If your firm has more than 50 employees or your company’s annual earnings are above the designated threshold, you are required by Law to compliant with the Employment Equity Act. You are also required to report on it before the 1st of October. This plan must be developed in consultation with your employees.

Non-Compliance Equals Hefty Penalties

Failure to comply with the requirements of the Employment Equity Act can lead to penalties and legal action against your firm. The Employment Equity Commission oversees the enforcement and governance of the Act and in order to stay in good standing with the Commission, you may want to call in the help of experts. Fortunately, we provide a range of services in this regard, helping your firm to stay compliant with the requirements of the Act.

Part of the requirements is that you need to appoint a senior manager responsible for the implementation of the plan in your firm. If you have not yet done so, act immediately as it is not something that can be accomplished overnight. You can expect random inspections by the Department of Labour and if they find that your firm is not compliant, your firm can face a penalty of R500 000 or more. It is simply not worth the risk and, besides, compliance helps with the balanced growth of your firm.

Our Services

We help you draft and implement your Employment Equity Plan as part of our services. The purpose of the said plan is to make it possible for your firm to eliminate unfair discrimination and to ensure equitable representation of employees from the specific groups disadvantaged in the past. The plan must stipulate the steps you intend to follow to reach your objectives regarding the aforementioned. It is essential to follow the guidelines set out by the Department of Labour when preparing and implementing the plan. This also applies to the reporting with regards to the progress towards reaching the objectives.

Why the Act?

The Act was introduced specifically to promote fair treatment in the workplace and to eliminate instances of unfair discrimination. By complying with the requirements of the Act, you also minimise the risk of having to appear at the CCMA for unfair discrimination issues. The Act was furthermore introduced to ensure implementation of affirmative action measures to address the employment disadvantages experienced by designated groups in the past.

Make use of our services to ensure full compliance with the requirements of the Employment Equity Act.

]]>What Is Workplace Harassment And What Can You Do About It?http://chagroup.co.za/what-is-workplace-harassment/
Fri, 27 Jul 2018 09:33:04 +0000http://chagroup.co.za/?p=578

In South Africa, the labour laws are quite strict, which means that companies or organisations are keen to follow the rules in order to avoid penalties and lawsuits. For many, however, it is not clear what exactly workplace harassment actually entails, and because it is a fairly abstract concept, it does not always enjoy the attention it deserves.

While sexual harassment has been given a lot of attention over the last decade, workplace harassment in comparison can often be perceived as fairly unimportant, especially during cases where no sexual harassment took place, but workplace harassment did. Here we provide you with some valuable information about the different forms that workplace harassment can take.

Different Types of Workplace Harassment

Work overload: Often, employers looking for ways to get rid of an employee can overwhelm them with work (within or outside of their job descriptions) in the hope that they will fail to perform, which gives the employer the ability to terminate their contracts or services.

Unjustified criticism: Nobody responds well to negative criticism. Some employers may resort to constant criticism to reduce the self-image and confidence of an employee until they break them down to the point where they feel unable to perform their duties well. This form of criticism is often quite abstract and does not point out any particular failures; just a general disapproval of the way the employee goes about doing their job.

Victimisation: One of the most common ways of victimising an employee is to degrade a person in front of their peers – whether turning down a suggestion during a meeting or openly sneering at the ability to do their job in front of others.

Sexual orientation, gender, religion, or race: One of the mainstays of workplace harassment is based on one of these factors. Sometimes, people do not like working with people of different races, and, more commonly, people with different sexual orientation because they feel uncomfortable about it. They may degrade and criticise a person for completely irrelevant reasons in order to hide the root of their discomfort, but at the end of the day, their objective is to reduce and embarrass the person enough so that they leave.

Spreading rumours: Spreading rumours about a person is sometimes a strategy of workplace harassment. Because the antagonist does not have control over the person in question, they try to influence the perception of others by providing them with information (true or untrue) about the person that may create a negative perception of the victim.

The fact is that all employees have to be treated, at all times, with dignity and fairness, and because workplace harassment is difficult to prove or quantify literally, people often engage in it. If you suspect workplace harassment in your company or you are an employee experiencing workplace harassment, give our team at CHA Group a call, and we can help you sort out these problems.

All organisations have universal needs that none of them can do without. While companies and their environments differ enormously, all companies need employees. And where employees are required, factors such as labour legislation, tax, recruitment, employment contracts, and a quagmire of other labour issues are involved. Many new companies or SMEs struggle to deal with these demands, and the clever ones use labour consulting services to make life easier and to allow business owners to focus on business issues instead of spending time on consuming payroll, recruitment, and other labour issues.

Labour consulting services can help in the following ways:

Labour Laws: The legislative nature of the local labour laws can be fickle. It is, therefore, essential to always be up to date with new laws and amendments to existing laws in order to remain compliant. For the ordinary small business owner, it can be very difficult to negotiate this landscape, and outsourcing all disciplinary procedures, following the Labour Relations Act and dealing with industrial relations issues can take a lot of pressure off the business managers and business owner. Often, valuable advice and swift action are needed in order to deal with a labour issue and getting professionals to deal with these can be very valuable.

Labour Broking: Because employing permanent employees can be very expensive, it helps to save money by employing a Labour Brokers services that can help out with staff issues. All businesses go through periods of time during the year where more labour is needed, or perhaps in some cases, specialist labour is needed. This means that the business owner has to recruit staff for these roles. Recruitment can take a long time – sifting through CVs, choosing potential candidates, and then interviewing them can take very long and become quite expensive when it takes time and focus away from running the business in the most productive manner. Employing the services of professional Labour Brokers that have access to labour data basis can ease this load immensely. They have access to all kinds of skilled and unskilled labour that you can employ on a temporary basis, and the business owner does not have to go through the entire recruitment process just to find the correct people for the job. It is crucial for any Labour Broking Agency to have the correct infrastructure and to be compliant when it comes to labour brokerage.

Payroll Services: Because you have to compensate your labour force according to the labour laws of South Africa, there are a lot of factors that come into play. The salaries have to be calculated and taxed accordingly, leave days allocated, payslips issued, bank account details entered correctly, and employees need to be paid on time, every time. Using labour consulting services to carry out all these functions, the business owner is empowered to concentrate on other areas of the business that may require more attention.

If you have a business and feel that you require some help dealing with payroll, recruitment and temporary staff, contact us at the CHA Group for more information.

]]>Discrimination on the grounds of disabilityhttp://chagroup.co.za/discrimination-on-the-grounds-of-disability/
http://chagroup.co.za/discrimination-on-the-grounds-of-disability/#respondMon, 07 May 2018 09:17:49 +0000http://chagroup.co.za/?p=169In the recent case of Smith v Kit Kat Group (Pty) Ltd [2016] ZALCJHB 362, the Labour Court dealt with the appropriate relief in circumstances where an employee had been unfairly discriminated against on the basis of a disability.

The employee in this case had suffered facial disfigurement as a consequence of a failed suicide attempt. The disfigurement also caused a speech impediment. Approximately five months elapsed from the date of his attempted suicide and the date on which he tendered his services to his employer. Throughout that period, the employer was supportive of the employee and stated on various occasions that whenever he was ready to return to work, he would always be welcomed back into the workplace.

However, when the employee officially tendered his services to the employer, he was told that he was not “facially acceptable” and that his presence in the workplace would remind the other employees of the unfortunate event. He was also informed that his speech impediment made it difficult for others to understand him. Ultimately, the employer did not accept the tender of the employee’s services.

Notwithstanding this, the employer took no further steps to dismiss the employee. The employee was thus left in limbo with no source of income and no certainty of his position and future.

The employee then referred a discrimination dispute to the CCMA in terms of section 10 of the Employment Equity Act, 55 of 1998, as amended (“the EEA”) which was unsuccessfully conciliated and then referred to the Labour Court.

With reference to the Code of Good Practice on the Employment of People with Disabilities as well as the employee’s ability to work and to find work, the Labour Court examined the employee’s circumstances and concluded that the employee suffered from a disability which was caused by his attempted suicide.

Having established that the employee had a disability, the Court then considered whether the employee had been discriminated against on ground of disability. It was found that the employer’s conduct was tantamount to a repudiation of the employee’s contract of employment. It did not want the employee back at work, but equally did not want to deal with the issue of the employee’s continued employment. The Court accordingly found that there could be no doubt that the manner in which the employer dealt with the employee’s disability amounted to discrimination.

The Labour Court then proceeded to the next enquiry, namely whether the discrimination was unfair. The employer’s reliance on the concept of the employee being ‘cosmetically unacceptable’ was found to be patently unfair and did not offer a justification to the discrimination against the employee. The Court noted that the employer’s duty to accommodate the employee in the organisation stems from its overriding obligation not to discriminate against him. The Court found that the employer failed to discharge this obligation. The manner in which the employer dealt with the employee following his tender of services amounted unequivocally to unfair discrimination.

Having determined that the employee had been unfairly discriminated against on the basis of his disability, the Labour Court considered the appropriate relief that the employee was entitled to. In terms of section 50(2) of the EEA, the Labour Court is entitled to make, inter alia, an order for the payment of damages and/or the payment of compensation to the employee.

The Court considered the distinction between an award for compensation and an award for damages with reference to the case of the SA Airways (Pty) Ltd v Jansen van Vuuren and Another (2014) 35 ILJ 2774 (LAC), in which it was stated that ‘damages’ refers to an actual or potential monetary loss (i.e. patrimonial loss), while ‘compensation’ refers to the award of an amount in solatium (i.e. non-patrimonial loss).

Section 50 of the EEA provides that any order in respect of an employee who has been unfairly discriminated against must be ‘appropriate’ and ‘just and equitable’ in the circumstances. In SA Airways the Labour Appeal Court had held that an award for damages in respect of patrimonial loss and a compensation award for the injured feelings of an employee who has been unfairly discriminated against may, depending on the facts and circumstances of the case, be justified.

The Labour Court accordingly found that the employee had a claim for damages, being the patrimonial loss arising from the salary that he did not earn as a result of the unfair discrimination. The employee’s compensation claim would be solatium for the humiliation and hurt suffered as a result of the unfair discrimination. Furthermore, the Court noted that the conduct of the employer was mala fide and that it acted to undermine the fundamental values underpinning labour relations in South Africa.

Based on these findings, the Court found that a damages award for 24 months’ salary and a compensation award for 6 months’ salary would be appropriate in the circumstances. The result of this award was that the employee was entitled to R1 540 199.40 in damages and compensation.

The case serves as startling reminder of how employees with disabilities or impediments are still treated in the workplace. Employers must take note of this judgment and particularly the harsh sanction imposed by the Court. The Courts would take a dim view of employers who engage in any form of unfair discrimination, including a failure to assist employees with disabilities or impediments.

]]>http://chagroup.co.za/discrimination-on-the-grounds-of-disability/feed/0Guidelines when an employee is off for several months due to ill healthhttp://chagroup.co.za/employee-is-off-for-months/
Mon, 07 May 2018 09:17:17 +0000http://chagroup.co.za/?p=167Question: An employee fell ill and was unable to perform his duties as his condition deteriorated day by day. The employer took him to the doctor, who only provided a sick note. The employee exhausted his sick leave during this period, and has subsequently been off sick for several months. The employer had to appoint someone in the employee’s place for operational reasons. What happens to the sick employee now?

An ill health incapacity investigation and counselling process could / should have been finalised before this point, probably resulting in the dismissal of the employee. However, if the employer wants to cleanly conclude the situation at this stage, it needs to get a doctor to provide a full report and prognosis in terms of the employee’s ability to perform his work and the chances of him getting well again within a reasonable time – to the extent that he will be able to perform as required, or to be appointed to any other viable alternative position, if there are any.

It is recommended that the employer nominate and pay for a doctor to examine the employee as a second opinion and especially if his own doctor is not cooperating – the second doctor can always consult with the employee’s own doctor on the medical history etc. The employee has to be informed of the purpose of the examination, the information the employer requires and the reasons for this process.

The doctor(s) need not give the employer any private medical information in the report if the employee does not consent to that. However, the employer must brief the doctor fully (preferably in writing) about the nature of the employee’s job and the physical, emotional and psychological demands of the job; and be informed that they need not disclose the details of the illness, but provide an operational prognosis based on their expert opinion (a sample letter is available from Griessel Consulting). The doctor should give the employer an opinion on the employee’s ability to do the job – based on whatever disclosed or undisclosed medical condition he has – and whether full performance can be attained and maintained within a reasonable time frame. This is operational information and not disclosure of private medical details.

If there is not going to be full performance within a reasonable time (also taking into consideration the time that the employee has already been off) and no viable alternatives to consider, the employer could schedule a formal meeting with the employee (who can be assisted by a co-worker) to discuss the medical report and to consider termination on the basis of incapacity.

If the employee refuses to cooperate with a medical examination, he should be informed that the onus is on him to provide reasons why he should not be dismissed for ill health, and if he cannot / will not cooperate with this process in order to provide the necessary information for the viability of the employment relationship going forward, the employer will have no choice but to dismiss him for ill health incapacity.

]]>Department of Labour sends six companies for prosecution as part of National Director-General Review for EE compliancehttp://chagroup.co.za/department-of-labour/
Fri, 04 May 2018 12:55:55 +0000http://chagroup.co.za/?p=82

The Department of Labour’s Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES) branch has announced it is taking six companies to court for prosecution for failure to prepare employment equity plans as per the provisions of s20 (1) of the (EEA) and reporting to the Director-General on plans that do not exist which amounts to misrepresentation.

The six companies referred for prosecution are Gooderson; Clientele Legal; Clientele Life; Mazor Aluminium; Mazor Steel; and Spanjaard Limited. The companies are to be referred for breach of Section 20 of EE legislation. Department of Labour; Chief Director, Statutory & Advocacy Services, Advocate Fikiswa Mncanca said the companies will be taken to the Labour Court for prosecution. Mncanca said in addition, the companies will be taken to the Magistrates Court for misrepresentation. She said the six companies have already been sent letters of intention to prosecute.

Mncanca said last week (14-18 August) 12 companies were scheduled for visits, and out of the 12, only six were visited and they were also found not to be complying with the provisions of the EE Act. She said the other six (JSE Limited; Safic Pty Ltd; Phumelela Gaming; Cullinan Holdings; Reubex Pty Ltd and EOH were issued with recommendations and given 60 days to comply to contraventions.The six have among them contravened Sections 16, 19, 20 and 24 of the EE Act.
The referrals are part of a National Director-General (DG) Review announced by the Department of Labour last week to inspect 72 JSE Securities-listed companies to ensure compliance with employment equity.

The initiative is part of achieving the department’s outcome to promote equity in the labour market. The National Director-General Review team started with the inspections last month (in July) and these will continue until December 2017. The National DG Review involves a process of interrogating company’s EE plans to assess whether the plan complies with legislation and is able to transform when put to test. Mncanca said: “We have been talking about transformation and nothing seems to be happening. Transformation should not just end in paper. Also, transformation should not happen just because the Department of Labour is conducting national DG Reviews. “The department ‘has arrived’ to enforce compliance with EE legislation”.

Companies that do not have a plan face a fine of R1, 5-million. Those failing to prepare EE plans will also be subjected to a penalty of R1, 5-million. Repeat offenders face harsher penalties.